If you bought the car new, or recently enough that the manufacturer's warranty is still running, you are not starting from zero. The factory coverage already protects the car for a stated period and mileage. A service contract sold on top of it can start at the sale, start when the factory coverage ends, or begin some other way. The start date is where most of the fit gets decided, and it is the part people skim.
Read where the contract says it starts
Find the clause that names the effective date and the coverage start date. They are not always the same. Some contracts count from the day you sign, others from the day the car is delivered, and others from the day the factory warranty expires. Check which one applies, and check what the contract says about a car that has already logged some miles when you sign. If the contract is written to start later, ask what you are paying for during the overlap, if anything, and whether any payment is due before coverage begins.
Map the overlap on paper
Write down three things before you talk to anyone: the point at which the factory coverage ends, the point at which the contract would start, and the reading on the odometer today. Compare them. A gap means a stretch where neither document covers the car. An overlap means two documents cover the same parts at once, which may be useful for a while or may be paper you did not need. Neither is automatically wrong, but you should know which one you are buying.
Keep the odometer reading honest. The number on the dashboard is the figure the contract will use, not the number you remember from the lot.
Check the waiting period
A waiting period is the stretch after the contract is sold during which claims are not paid. If you buy a contract to start at the end of the factory warranty, a waiting period may push the real protection later, which means the gap you were trying to close may still be open. Ask the seller to show you the waiting period in the contract, not just describe it. Our list of providers by waiting period, shortest first is a starting point for comparing published terms, but confirm anything you read there against the contract you are handed.
Ask whether you can wait
Many contracts can be bought later, while the car still meets the provider's age and mileage limits. Waiting has a cost of its own. The car gets older, the mileage climbs, and some limits may close off options. Ask whether the contract can be bought after the factory warranty ends, what age and mileage the car must be at that point, and whether the terms change if you wait. Do not assume a later purchase is available or equally good. Ask, and get the answer in writing.
Questions to put to the seller
Ask these before you sign. Which date starts the contract? Does any part of it overlap the factory warranty you already have, and does it cover the same parts? Is there a waiting period, and does it run from the sale or from the start date? If I wait, does the contract still apply to this car, and under what limits? Can I cancel during the early stretch, and what happens to whatever I have paid? Who handles a claim during the overlap? Get each answer as a clause in the document, not as a verbal promise.
What to do with the answers
If the contract starts at the sale and overlaps a factory warranty you already have, decide whether you want to pay for that overlap or only for the period after the factory coverage ends. If it starts later with a waiting period, count the gap in months and miles and decide whether you can live with it. If it can be bought later, write down the age and mileage cutoffs so you can check them against the car itself, not against the salesperson's memory. Then compare the terms side by side in our term-by-term comparison, and read the signed copy against your notes before you leave the desk.